Minima of Algol

 

Algol is in the lower left; it is the right corner of the isosceles triangle.  It should be about as bright as Mirfak, Alpha Persei, the brightest start in the frame, on the right.  Instead, it's barely brighter than the left corner of the triangle, Gorgonea Tertia.  This is Algol at its minimum, at 8:38 EST, 2-21-26, or 2:38 UT, 2-22-26. The image is a phone pic, and the gradient to the west was pretty bad, made worse by the 23% Luna just to the southwest of the frame.

Mercury Luna Conjunction, Feb. 18, 2026

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Caught this from the airport in Gainesville, Florida, with a Pixel 9XL Pro.

Jupiter, 2/6/2026 (close to midnight CST)

 

 This is the best of the night, 1250/5k with the QHYiii485C through the CFF 290 at f/20.25. I'm a dabbler in planetary thus far.

 

And here is Jupiter with Europa, best 2.5k/5k.